They are still figuring out how much the new law will cost them, especially when employees call in sick at the last minute. The law went into effect Wednesday.

On Wednesday, some New Yorkers had the option, for the first time, to stay home sick and get paid. The day brought few surprises, but business owners say the full cost of the new sick-leave regulations won't be clear until months from now.

The city has invested $1.3 million in advertising and education campaigns to make sure companies and employees understand the new law, which went into effect in April. The law requires companies with five or more employees to provide paid sick leave, and businesses with fewer employees must allow unpaid sick leave. Those hours became available to more than 1 million workers on July 30. Business owners knew what to expect, but implementation will remain a challenge, said James Versocki, counsel for the New York City Chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association.

The Department of Consumer Affairs released a finalized version of the law's rules on Wednesday, retaining some provisions that have been criticized by business owners—especially those who own restaurants, who have long opposed a rule that prevents employers from setting minimum increments for sick time used that exceed four hours a day. They say this will force managers to choose between paying extra workers for half of an 8-hour shift and finding half-shift replacement workers. Owners are also concerned about language that lets employees call in sick at the last minute, said Mr. Versocki.

"For unexpected illnesses, there is no time frame," said Mr. Versocki. "It talks about as soon as possible, but if an employee calls in 15 minutes before a shift, presumably there cannot be a penalty for that."

The law is set up to give employees more rights and employers a lot more responsibility, said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance. The new rules will definitely increase the cost of doing business, he said, but owners are still trying to figure out how it will affect their budgets. For many businesses, the choice will be between hiring additional employees, raising prices—an outcome that Mr. Versocki said is unlikely in the restaurant business—or sacrificing quality of service and spreading the work among the other employees on a shift.

"We hope that the vast majority of employees use it in a responsible way, and there will be a limited financial and operational impact," said Mr. Rigie. "Time will tell."

Some business owners, like Christina Ha, who owns and operates two Macaron Parlour locations in Manhattan on St. Marks Place and Columbus Avenue with her husband, preemptively instituted sick-leave policies before the deadline. Ms. Ha created a sick-leave policy for her 10 to 15 employees in February, but she said they have, so far, rarely taken advantage of the benefit. When they do take a sick day, she and her husband pick up the slack.

"It ends up being not a big financial cost, just a [personal] health cost to us because we might end up working 14 hours to cover a person," she said. "It's hard to do the right thing and it's hard to be a good employer."

Ms. Ha said that although the cost of paid sick leave is high for smaller businesses, having the city establish an "industry standard" in sick leave will protect workers and help companies retain high-quality staff.

The law allows a $500 penalty for flagrant, repeat violators on their first violation, but employers with five to 19 employees have two months remaining in a six-month grace period for unintentional violations. The Department of Consumer Affairs, which opened a new paid sick leave division on Wednesday, will be focusing on education and mediation of complaints, said Commissioner Julie Menin.

"This is a historic law, and we think it is important that people know their rights and responsibilities under the law," she said. "Our first course of action is always going to be mediation."

Television and radio commercials explaining the new regulations will air next week, and the department will soon launch a record-keeping tool to help employers keep track of accrued sick-leave time, which can be used by an employee for him or herself or to care for a relative.

"We hope that this is indicative of the relationship that the administration wants to have with small businesses," said Mr. Versocki, praising the city's outreach.

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